From: suyento Amazing Facts about Amazing Grace
Did you know that Amazing Grace was first chanted without musical accompaniment? Or that its lyrics underwent numerous alterations throughout history? There is a lot about the song and its development that you might never have guessed. Read further to learn more interesting facts about Amazing Grace. With thanks to Steve Turner, author of Amazing Grace: The Story of America's Most Beloved Song. Used by permission of the author. There are currently 972 arrangements of the song and more than 1,100 available albums which feature versions of Amazing Grace. Aside from the Olney Hymns (a compilation of hymns written by John Newton and poet William Cowper) the earliest printings of the song Amazing Grace did not credit its writer, John Newton. When Amazing Grace was first performed, there was no musical accompaniment. Newton was most concerned that his audience understand the importance of his words, not their aesthetic impact. The fourth stanza of the song changed in 1909. Edwin Excell replaced it with verse from the hymn "Jerusalem, My Happy Home." Arlo Guthrie performed Amazing Grace on the opening night of Woodstock. To this day, Amazing Grace is the highlight of Arlo Guthrie's live show. In conjunction with telling the history of the song, Guthrie tells his listeners, "no matter what your story is...if you believe something is right and worth doing, then don't quit trying. If you don't quit, someday you will succeed." Jessye Norman sang Amazing Grace at London's Wembley Stadium celebrating Nelson Mandela's release from prison. The best-selling instrumental single of all time in Britain is an RCA released bagpipe version of Amazing Grace. The Music Educator's National Conference included Amazing Grace in their list of 42 songs that preserve a piece of American culture. Amazing Grace was declared as a favorite hymn by Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. E.D. Hirsch's 1987 book Cultural Literacy includes a list of 5,000 names, phrases, dates and concepts Hirsch believes that every American should know. There are 33 songs on the list, five of which are religious. Of these five songs, two are Christmas carols, two are spirituals-and one is the hymn Amazing Grace. Amazing Grace was sung at funerals for Joe DiMaggio, Sonny Bono, Richard Nixon, Alex Haley and Stevie Ray Vaughn, among others. There is an "Amazing Grace Bakery" in Duluth, Massachusetts; "Amazing Grace Flowers" in Jakarta, Indonesia; "Amazing Grace Whole Foods" in Louisville, Kentucky; "Amazing Grace Llamas" in Perrysville, Ohio, and "Amazing Grace Hair Styling" in Norfolk, VA. Taken from www.amazinggracemovie.com Regards, Suy --------------------------------------------------- "If God is the source of our greatest delight then God is our most precious treasure; which makes us radically God-centered and not self-centered. And if we treasure God most, we glorify Him most." --------------------------------------------------- "Let us become God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-powered, Bible-saturated, missions-mobilizing, soul-winning, and justice-pursuing." --------------------------------------------------- "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope -- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" - Titus 2:11-13 ============================================= From: Jimmy Okberto CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON QUOTATION AND DEVOTIONAL "There is a crown there [in heaven] which nobody's head but yours can ever wear. There is a seat in which none but yourself can sit. There is a harp that will be silent till your fingers strike its strings. There is a robe, made for you, which no one else can wear. They are wanting you up there." ^(J)^ ============================================= From: Novita Winata Share it to ur friends Sweet words are easy to say, Sweet things are easy 2 buy, But sweet people are difficult to find. Life ends when U stop dreaming, Hope ends when U stop believing, Love ends when U stop caring, Friendship ends when U stop sharing. So share this with whom ever U consider a friend. To love without condition, To talk without intention, To give without reason, And to care without expectation is the heart of a truefriend... ======================================== From: HK MATTHEW 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
